turn, turn, turn.

lucky for me, florida decided to postpone the summer season for an extra few weeks this year; it was uncommonly 'cold' during the beginning of may.
i kept my window open all night and slept like a little angel baby within the arms of a cold, cozy cloud of down comforter.
also, that's not an invitation to break into my house during the colder weather months so don't even ask, you creepers.

this afternoon a friend and i spoke about seasons. not the weather, but the personal, lengthy or short, glorious or depressing, easy or hard, and everywhere in between, seasons of this roller coaster of life.
as cliche as it sounds-hard times are worth it.
we do the most growing. we learn the most about ourselves. we learn what we need, or better yet WHO we need to get us through.

"you aren't sufficient enough without Me. your sufficiency comes from Me because I AM sufficient and you are made in My likeness"*

and we learn wisdom. we learn how to take it. the harsh, painful blows of ourselves or others. we learn that we are no longer under the bondage and what we may believe are 'forever feelings' are simply seasonal. we learn to denounce, to not take ownership of anything that may has potential power over us.

Who is like the wise?
    Who knows the explanation of things? 

A person’s wisdom brightens their face
    and changes its hard appearance.*

we get to understand the seasons. the cold when it's supposed to be hot. the downs when we feel like we should be happy. and that wisdom changes us because we come to have hope and comfort in the promise that there is a time for everything. and that He has made everything beautiful in its own time.*

the Byrds got it. and sang Solomon's words to a little jiggy tune.

*2 Cor. 3:5, Ecc. 8:1, Ecc. 3:11

..and now I'm back...

from outer-space.
and to spare you from any more aretha franklin - moment of silence - nods, lets just say that i'm feeling a comeback for this thang. the hiatus and repurpose took longer than i thought it would, about two years longer. but i think i'm okay with that.

this blog was always there. floating in cyber space like 'hey. i'm here when it's right. whatever man '
don't know- i picture this site as a 60 year old hippy with long hair and a tie-dye shirt.

i think its right now. and i'll take you up on your offer my laid-back friend.

the next few months there will be a lot of transition. new state. new internship. new people. completely new life really. i want to use this blog to reflect on these things with a spiritual mindset. to show you the works and the surprises my great God has (and will) show me.

and to hopefully help you recognize God's wonders among you.

hiatus and repurpose.

forgive me. i haven't been blogging much lately-mainly because i've been SUPER busy, but also, this became more of a burden than a fun thing. i will explain...
i found myself not wanting to do this blog-not because of anything in particular-but because it lacked purpose.
why. what is the purpose for this blog? what is the purpose?
i couldn't really put my finger on it. i did want to entertain people, and perhaps follow the whole blog scene just for fun.
whatever, we're all followers, i aint scurrred to admit it.
but intermittent spiritual blogs amongst unimportant rambling blogs were just dumb. especially when you're burdening yourself to 'blog' when you haven't in a while.
so, i'm repurposeing this blog to be what i intended it to be.

wonders among you.

the name comes from a verse being: josh 3:5 - Then Joshua said to the people, "consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." and habakkuk 1:5 "look! wonder! be amazed! for I AM doing something in your days, you would not believe even if you were told."
those verses are about one thing only. God.
so that's what it's going back to. i will not blog when i don't want to, and when i do, my prayer is to make it glorifying to God and not to man. not to me.
"whatever you eat drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
you can keep following, you can stop reading, but i also pray that this blog finds you a blessing and/or gets you praising God, and not a purposeless read about the perhaps, fun and interesting, yet ultimately meaningless life happenings of a girl.
i don't want to become a girl with Christ. i want to be Christ's girl.
ultimately to be used by God. period. HE needs to be on display and HE needs to be proclaimed. aimless thoughts aren't purposeful. in whatever word or deed, i want God to use it to bring Him glory and tell of His son.
that is all.
here we go.

jairus-the cutest kid in the entire universe

why is it that the kids that are related to you are the cutest kids you have ever seen?
i remember when Jairus, my nephew was born. hands down, he was a beautiful baby, and if you know me, you would know that i think that newborns are generally weird looking. all smashed up and wrinkly like they just smelled the worst smell in their entire life. like benjamin button. eeeghh.

jairus talking^. sorry about the things his dad says. he's clearly frustrated with diddy kong and the super nintendo i found in my storage space. strike that, my mother's storage space. strike that.
i'm a hoarder.
not really. but i do clean my room out every episode i watch of it.
sorry...

but, look at this kid.

he's adorable. rumbly tumbly even.
and he loves me like no one else. its true.
he pees on me more than anyone so i know its true.
here's my sister's update about him.
he weighs almost 15 pounds and turns 3 months on saturday-that's right. we grow them big around here!
have a great week!
by the way we are DONE with the exhibit!!! (well almost....) but expect a blog about that by friday wooo hoo!
be blessed
nat

exhibit

i am working on an exhibit for the museology class i am taking at school. it is soooo much fun! it caters to my dorky historical side as well as my DIY side. we have to be thrifty and crafty and resourceful.

and i'm loving it.

here are some pictures of the exhibit about a week ago. 

 this is a view of the wall we are working on. we are the slavery/textile mill wall.

 we have a hoarding problem...not really...but we're getting there.
what could be better than hoarding artifacts anyways?

 sorry, girl.

 she's stephanie. she's in my group. she's playing with Civil War bullets.

 artifacts from the lumber mill

 cotton bale and other artifacts from the textile mill. we have a display case now that will go on our wall. exciting!

 oh, you know, no big deal, just holding a civil war bullet in my hand, average saturday.

just think, these walls were completely WHITE! and our class made them into an exhibit (soon to be finished!)
I will update you when it is all done and beautiful! SO excited! visit Arcadia Mill!

the girl and the magic piano.

A blonde headed 6-year-old is wearing braided pig-tails, a blue, flowered, nightgown-type dress, and no shoes while she gazes intently and in awe at the piano playing itself in the coffee shop (one of those ones run by a CD, but the keys move still). Not knowing any of the words, she begins to dance joyfully as if no one else is in the room. With a huge smile on her face, twirling about and making her dress flow, she suddenly finds her self in the way of the wind being produced by the oversized fan in the corner of the store. She stops abruptly in front of it, slows her motion, closes her eyes, and smiles sweetly. She is feeling the wind catching and petting her face for the next 7 seconds. There is no sin, no sadness no regrets, no attitude at all in her smile. Simply taking in the feeling of the wind. She catches me watching her out of the corner of her eye, smiles and waves, then goes back to dancing around like a little fairy to the music of the piano. I think "hey i need to write this down" and begin to relate the story that just unfolded before me to how Heaven might be one day. Will we dance before the Lord like David did? I sure hope so. There will be no sadness, no sin, no burden, no caring about how other people look or stare, just white-as-snow purity and joy as we spend time in the presence of our Creator God. Will I be in awe as i stand transfixed upon my God? Will i just be overjoyed to the point of uncontrollable twirling? Or will I simply, stop, shut my eyes, and feel the presence of God radiate throughout me? And enjoy it all.
After her mom picks her up to take a closer look at the keys of the "magic" instrument, she reaches out and touches it softly. Still in confusion over its magnificence she discreetly asks, "how does it do that?" A piano that plays itself is ludicrous in the mind of a child. She's not thinking of the mechanics behind it, or the fact that it runs on CD's. She is in complete awe and takes it for what it is. Something beyond her understanding.
Child-like faith. In heaven we won't have to have faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But we WILL SEE HIM!!! We'll be done with waiting on the Lord's timing in tough circumstances, believing when others, or mainly ourselves, tell us we can't. No longer will we have to ask, "how does HE do that?" or more prevalent, "WHAT is He doing?" or "why?"

The girl in the blue dress is gone from the coffee shop now, taking nothing with her except a memory of pure, undefiled enjoyment dancing in the presence of the piano that magically plays itself. Although I deeply considered the blessing she was to me tonight there is a characteristic about this happening that does not match up with our, meaning all Christ-followers, eventual conclusion. Leaving this shop, she will grow up, learn the mechanics behind the magic piano, and lose her faith in its ability to play by itself. What a blessing it is to know that once we enter into the Heavenly presence of our Father we will ETERNALLY dance, ETERNALLY wonder, ETERNALLY stare in AWE and the GLORY of the Almighty God, and be ETERNALLY joyful! All there is left to say is, "come quickly Lord Jesus" and give us Your eternity.

home office.

my home office needed some little love
and what i mean by my home office, i mean this.

my printer nook and important papers basket, and a trashcan. don't judge me, i'm a college kid.
you see, i had this awesomely precious chair from my grandmothers that was falling apart, and since it held my printer, it needed a little bit of a fixing.

luckily my sister opened me up to the possibility of weaving a new chair seat, made of fabric.
and it turned out GREAT!
i made this the other night while watching jane eyre.

1. that is the weirdest movie i have ever seen.
2. that was a fun project, i'd totally do it again.
3. it was FREE!

you can see the remnants of the sheets. and the long second toe. i figured it's about time you knew about it.

which is the best thing about all of it. My roomate didn't want her queen sized aqua/bluish sheets, and i didn't want to spend any money on this project.
sure it got a little bit messy, and it really did take longer than i thought it would.

but in the end, it fits right in with my room.

simple and cute.

well hello there chair.
home office do-over.
well maybe home office chair do-over.
and it's sturdy!

 

step one: cut sheet or other fabric into LONG pieces.

step two: tie around tightly over and over again one way. scrunch together and put knots on the bottom side.

step three: beginning from the back, weave in and out perpendicular to the other pieces of fabric.

step four: put those knots on the bottom as well.

step five: cut off remainder, making sure not to cut too short. add for a little of future stretching.

step six: be awesome.

step seven: give your self a pat on the back. you just weaved a chair seat! cool huh?

a crash of faithfulness.

last summer i asked one of my christian friends how their summer went. he sighed one of those fulfilled, just-ate-thanksgiving-dinner, 'life is really good' sighs and told me, "ya know, this summer God just really prepared me for this year back at school. I mean there are so many people on this campus who need Jesus!"

3 immediate thoughts:
1. dang, homeboy! get it! i was only looking for a "great! great! how was yours?" but you just exceeded my expectations!
2. will you marry me?
3. you, know what, Amen brother.

anyways, it got me thinking about making this summer meaningful. purposeful and focused.
then it arrived, the thought that i had never really entertained the idea of faithfulness. yes, i love Jesus, believe in Him, etc. but does all my worrying/anxiety really illustrate turning directly to Him once disaster/trials strike?
so i asked God to make this summer an "undistracted devotion to the Lord" summer.
just us two. just me and Him.
and that He would show me what faithfulness really means.

be careful what you wish for.

now i'm not complaining, but dang, i have learned more about what it means to be faithful, to trust in the Lord, than i think i have in a long time.

for example, last week this happened:

yes, i'm fine, i was a little shook up, but about an hour after the whole thing went down i remembered my immediate reaction after that blue honda took a turn and t-boned me out of nowhere.

"Jesus, please help me. help this situation."

i prayed like it was second nature. and that's a huge thing for someone who is awesome at legalism. God has truly answered my prayer of cultivating faithfulness to the point of producing in me a fruit that He promised He would. Gal 5:22-23 has never been so real: "for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

so for now, i am car shopping, with money from the insurance agency-holla! stay tuned for a little bit of blessing- mazda style!

love you all!